This was my third NLO and I thought this one was run better than the others I have attended. The use of the electronic scoreboard, while it lagged slightly in showing what was happening on each mat, was still effective in being able to track which wrestlers were wrestling and on which mat. The use of just two mats for the championship matches was also effective; however, given that there were PSU wrestlers in seven of the 10 finals, you couldn't just concentrate on one match. There was a decent crowd and a lot of good matches. As for each weight class:
125 - Nico was Nico; won it all and looked solid. I thought Yanovich also had a very credible showing.
133 - Thought Jordan looked great up to the finals. Didn't think Cortez would beat Jordan in the finals; it was a close match but Cortez showed he could hang with Jordan. Cortez will be a very effective replacement for Jordan next year.
141 - I thought Jimmy looked okay; I didn't see any of the constant head gear adjustments during his matches that many have stated here on other threads. Tweaked his knee, so he medically forfeited after going 3-0. I thought Kade Moss looked very good; he had one bad match but was a bonus point machine in his other matches. I had some expectation that Dinmore and Gulibon would meet in a match. Dinmore did place 7th I believe.
149 - Zain was Zain although the final match was very close for some time.
157 - Jason was Jason. Constant action; you need a supercomputer to track all of the action in his matches. He does get taken down; he does get reversed, but it never bothers him and he just keeps attacking, scoring points and winning - winning big. Zack Beitz had a solid tournament and ended up placing third. As much as I like Zack, I don't see any scenario in which he beats Nolf. He may need to try 165. Really wanted to see Joseph wrestle; rumor was he tweaked something and was being held out as a precaution.
165 - It was an all PSU semifinal - Rasheed, Morelli, C. Law and Hammond. Rasheed could not get out from under Morelli in the finals match and riding time was the difference. I entered this tournament thinking Hammond was the prime challenger to Rasheed; it turned out to be Morelli. I wonder if Morelli replaces Rasheed against Wisconsin or if Cael lets the Southern Scuffle sort it out?
174 - The Nickal vs Martin match was the best of the championship matches; it was the best match of the day. I've always been impressed with Nolf and his constant action; Nickal is very much like him or vice versa. Never a dull moment in a Nolf or Nickal match. Actually Brill had a good match against Martin as well and lost at the very end of that match but I don't see him as a threat to Nickal as the starter.
184 - Forgive me - I inadvertently cursed Matt McCutcheon. McCutcheon had just won big and I turned to the guy next to me and said that McCutcheon was the one wrestler who I believed had really dramatically improved over last year. In his next match he seemed more tentative I thought. He ended up tweaking his back and lost that match. He was in considerable pain; after he left the mat he entered the hall right outside the tournament area and simply laid on his back for some time. So he may have done more than tweak his back. I've wondered if perhaps he tweaked his back in the previous match and that is what seemed to change his approach in his final match. Kellan Stout is lean and lanky; he wrestled at 184 but I think he is a prime candidate for 197 next year.
197 - Morgan was Morgan. Spoke with him briefly as he was entering the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex on Saturday night and he is as personable as others have previously stated. Also saw Wes Phipps; seemed fine so I don't know what continues to prevent him from wrestling. Van Cura was there; have no idea why he did not wrestle.
HWT - I give Caleb Livingston props for wrestling as a HWT; the crowd did as well. His corner was probably the most crowded with PSU wrestlers urging him on in each match. Weight wise - he was clearly very small. He didn't get pinned or TF'd and the crowd appreciated his effort. I saw Jan Johnson a number of times; he seemed fine and I am sure the coaching staff is playing it real safe with any injury he has.
It was also good to see some of the new guys wrestle. Higgins, T. Law and Giannangeli were some I got to watch.
So next weekend is the Wisconsin match at the BJC. Will be interesting to see if there are any lineup changes at 141 (Gulibon with a tweaked knee), 165 (Morelli over Rasheed at the NLO) and 184 (McCutcheon with a tweaked back) or if we have a new heavyweight in Livingston. McCutcheon could be a big concern; I hope not.
125 - Nico was Nico; won it all and looked solid. I thought Yanovich also had a very credible showing.
133 - Thought Jordan looked great up to the finals. Didn't think Cortez would beat Jordan in the finals; it was a close match but Cortez showed he could hang with Jordan. Cortez will be a very effective replacement for Jordan next year.
141 - I thought Jimmy looked okay; I didn't see any of the constant head gear adjustments during his matches that many have stated here on other threads. Tweaked his knee, so he medically forfeited after going 3-0. I thought Kade Moss looked very good; he had one bad match but was a bonus point machine in his other matches. I had some expectation that Dinmore and Gulibon would meet in a match. Dinmore did place 7th I believe.
149 - Zain was Zain although the final match was very close for some time.
157 - Jason was Jason. Constant action; you need a supercomputer to track all of the action in his matches. He does get taken down; he does get reversed, but it never bothers him and he just keeps attacking, scoring points and winning - winning big. Zack Beitz had a solid tournament and ended up placing third. As much as I like Zack, I don't see any scenario in which he beats Nolf. He may need to try 165. Really wanted to see Joseph wrestle; rumor was he tweaked something and was being held out as a precaution.
165 - It was an all PSU semifinal - Rasheed, Morelli, C. Law and Hammond. Rasheed could not get out from under Morelli in the finals match and riding time was the difference. I entered this tournament thinking Hammond was the prime challenger to Rasheed; it turned out to be Morelli. I wonder if Morelli replaces Rasheed against Wisconsin or if Cael lets the Southern Scuffle sort it out?
174 - The Nickal vs Martin match was the best of the championship matches; it was the best match of the day. I've always been impressed with Nolf and his constant action; Nickal is very much like him or vice versa. Never a dull moment in a Nolf or Nickal match. Actually Brill had a good match against Martin as well and lost at the very end of that match but I don't see him as a threat to Nickal as the starter.
184 - Forgive me - I inadvertently cursed Matt McCutcheon. McCutcheon had just won big and I turned to the guy next to me and said that McCutcheon was the one wrestler who I believed had really dramatically improved over last year. In his next match he seemed more tentative I thought. He ended up tweaking his back and lost that match. He was in considerable pain; after he left the mat he entered the hall right outside the tournament area and simply laid on his back for some time. So he may have done more than tweak his back. I've wondered if perhaps he tweaked his back in the previous match and that is what seemed to change his approach in his final match. Kellan Stout is lean and lanky; he wrestled at 184 but I think he is a prime candidate for 197 next year.
197 - Morgan was Morgan. Spoke with him briefly as he was entering the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex on Saturday night and he is as personable as others have previously stated. Also saw Wes Phipps; seemed fine so I don't know what continues to prevent him from wrestling. Van Cura was there; have no idea why he did not wrestle.
HWT - I give Caleb Livingston props for wrestling as a HWT; the crowd did as well. His corner was probably the most crowded with PSU wrestlers urging him on in each match. Weight wise - he was clearly very small. He didn't get pinned or TF'd and the crowd appreciated his effort. I saw Jan Johnson a number of times; he seemed fine and I am sure the coaching staff is playing it real safe with any injury he has.
It was also good to see some of the new guys wrestle. Higgins, T. Law and Giannangeli were some I got to watch.
So next weekend is the Wisconsin match at the BJC. Will be interesting to see if there are any lineup changes at 141 (Gulibon with a tweaked knee), 165 (Morelli over Rasheed at the NLO) and 184 (McCutcheon with a tweaked back) or if we have a new heavyweight in Livingston. McCutcheon could be a big concern; I hope not.
